XORP: An open platform for network research

Network researchers face a significant problem when deploying software in routers, either for experimentation or for pilot deployment. Router platforms are generally not open systems, in either the open-source or the open-API sense. In this paper we discuss the problems this poses, and present an eXtensible Open Router Platform (XORP) that we are developing to address these issues. Key goals are extensibility, performance and robustness. We show that different parts of a router need to prioritize these differently, and examine techniques by which we can satisfy these often conflicting goals. We aim for XORP to be both a research tool and a stable deployment platform, thus easing the transition of new ideas from the lab to the real world.